Tag: Sharon Lock

Samouni family members found dead in Gaza rubble

International human rights activists have witnessed the recovery of dead members of the Samouni family.

Several bodies of the Samouni family have finally been retrieved, 12 days after an attack by Israeli military forces that led to the death of an unknown number of family members. Red Crescent ambulance crews finally gained access to the Zeitoun neighborhood of Gaza City on 18 January 2009.

The family was killed in their home by an Israeli air-strike on January 6th, but their bodies could not be recovered until recently due to ongoing Israeli operations in the area.  Seven family members including men, women and children, were retrieved from the rubble.  At least 13 family members are still unaccounted for.

Our ambulance crew set off at 10:20 am to go into the Zeitoun neighborhood.  We haven’t been able to enter the area most days because it’s been sealed by the army.  When we arrived at the Samouni family house, the house was flattened, so the roof was very close to the ground.  We made a hole in the roof and began pulling up bodies for an hour.  We were able to retrieve 7 bodies before the Red Cross asked us to leave, as the army was likely to return to Zeitoun.  There are at least 13 bodies still in the house, as one of the medics had a list of 20 missing family members.

Sharon Lock – International Solidarity Movement

One of the Samouni family children Ahmed Nasser, 10 or 11 years old, came to us at Al Quds hospital in a very bad condition on January 6th.  He had been shot in the chest and needed test tubs.  He told us that all of his family had been taken into a room by the soldiers when they came to their house.  When missiles hit the house, most of the family was killed.  Ahmed’s father is alive, but his mother, sisters and brother are all dead. Ahmed stayed with the bodies of his family members for four days before he was found and brought here.  The first thing he asked for was for bread and water.  Many family members are still missing but today we will know for sure when all of the bodies come in.

Reema Abu Lafi – nurse at Al Quds hospital in Gaza City

Eyewitness from Al Quds Hospital attack

Sharon Lock | The Independent

View from Gaza: The ambulance driver
Sharon Lock, an Australian from the International Solidarity Movement, was working as an ambulance driver for the Palestinian Red Crescent when its Al-Quds Hospital in Gaza City came under Israeli attack yesterday.

One shell landed outside the building about 10 yards from the incubators for new babies. We were putting fires out with buckets of water. The shrapnel seems to burn for a long time and it starts fires if it is not put out. We were just dealing with that when we heard shooting from the front steps of the hospital and my colleague Mohammed came to me covered with blood. ‘Israelis are shooting at people who are leaving their houses,’ he said. What happened was that a father and mother and two daughters had left their home, one of the daughters had gone missing and the other was shot. The bullet went through one cheek and out the other. As the father was coming up the steps he fell, shot as well. They didn’t know where the other daughter was. Mohammed and I decided to go out and find her. We found her hiding in a house. I would say she was about nine. She was very frightened.

Four medics killed by Israeli forces in Gaza

International Human Rights Activists working with Palestinian medical crews today reported that another four Palestinian medics were killed today by Israeli forces.

International Solidarity Movement activists spent the night accompanying ambulances in Gaza. They were, and will continue, working with medical personnel during the Israeli occupation forces ground invasion into northern Gaza.

In addition to the doctor and medic that the Israeli military murdered on the 31st of December, they have killed four more medics today. One was shot in Jabaliya, one in Al Sheikh Ejleen. Three have just been killed when a missile directly hit their ambulance in the Tal Hawye neighborhood in Gaza City. The medics are constantly in contact with the Red Cross for them to negotiate passage with the Israelis. The Israelis constantly refuse. – Sharon Lock (Australia), International Solidarity Movement

The Israelis dropped a bomb in front of our ambulance to prevent us accessing wounded people. However a donkey cart emerged carrying a wounded family; a mother and father and three teenage brothers. One of the teenagers was attempting to shield the other two with a blanket. They were both horrifically injured, I could see the lungs of one of them. As I assisted the medics to move him off the cart I found my hand inside his body. – Alberto Arce (Spain), International Solidarity Movement

I got a call 30 minutes ago, on a poor phone line, saying that Arafat is dead, killed while working, by Israeli fire. He was one of the emergency medics I met two nights ago, compassionate, emotionally strong, and with an unabashedly wacky sense of humour. I’m more saddened by his death than I can express. – Eva Bartlett (Canada), International Solidarity Movement

Israel is claiming that there is no humanitarian crisis because they do not consider us as humans. – Natalie Abu Shakra (Lebanon), International Solidarity Movement

Israel has continued to violate international conventions by attacking medical personnel. They are massacring the people of Gaza. With the swelling number of civilian casualties, Israel must ensure that medical assistance is available. Instead, they are intentionally targeting the medical teams that are meant to be protected by the Geneva Conventions. Israel’s disregard for international law must be confronted by the international community. – Vittorio Arrigoni (Italy), International Solidarity Movement

The ground invasion of last night has lead to Beit Lahiya and Beit Hanoun being shut down. We managed to get into Beit Hanoun to collect bodies of some of the dead. We are now headed to Jabaliya to continue our work with ambulance accompaniment. There is nowhere for the Gazan people to escape to, civilians cannot leave for safety because of the siege. These prolonged attacks on Gaza are horrific and last night’s ground invasion by the Israeli occupation forces has led to a swelling amount of civilian casualties. – Ewa Jasiewicz, Free Gaza Movement

Human Rights Activists in Gaza
Ewa Jasiewicz – Poland/Britain
Alberto Arce – Spain
Dr. Haider Eid – South Africa
Sharon Lock – Australia
Fida Qishta – Palestine
Jenny Linnel – Britain
Natalie Abu Shakra – Lebanon
Vittorio Arrigoni – Italy
Eva Bartlett – Canada

For free footage from Ramatan News Agency inside Gaza:
eutelsatw6. downlink 11691.08 horizontal symbol rate 2.894. this will work if ec is 3 over 4 (satellite co-ordinates)

For blogs from inside Gaza see:
ingaza.wordpress.com
talestotell.wordpress.com
palsolidarity.org